The Katydid

Here's another pest for you: The katydid.

They eat leaves off of plants so get out your bug spray!

Some facts about katydid:

The katydid is native to the Amazon, and the US.

Some species of katydids can grow as large as your hand!

One species is even purple!

They also like to eat roses.

~Emma

Cucumber Beetles

Gardeners beware! These little bugs may seem like cute little ladybugs, but they are actually garden pests.
They eat cucumbers, lettuce, and all the leaves off of vegetable plants and flowers.

photo credit:: internet

To get rid of them, you'd have to buy pest repellent, I don't know which kind though.




~Emma

Fishing Gear

Several weeks ago, I started fishing at a neighborhood pond.  The first time I went, all I had was a stick (pole), floss (line), a bent earring (hook), and some cheese (bait).

After (finally) finding a real hook on the dock, my sister and I caught two fish.  When we told our dad about our little adventure, he decided we needed the proper gear if we were to do real fishing, so he gave us two poles and a small tackle kit.

Our hot pink pole.

Tackle box.

It came with weights, hooks, bobbers, a stringer, and a lure.

My trusty "turtle" multi-tool.

It's a six-in-one: pliers, flathead screwdriver, file, Phillips screwdriver, knife, and key chain.

I used this glove the first time a caught a fish without my dad.  I don't use them any more though. ;D

And there's me with my first catch! (note the floss and stick!)

~Emma

Mocking Birds

The mocking bird is the state bird of Texas.  It can make over 1000 sounds and calls! There are so many around my house.  They mainly eat insects, but in the winter they eat fruit.  Among their prey are beetles, moths, butterflies, bees, ants wasps, grasshoppers, earthworms, and sometimes small lizards.  (And also grass seed)

Mocking birds are grayish-brown with white bellies.  They have long tails and legs and have small heads.  You can usually find them scavenging, mate-calling, fighting, or just singing.

Male mocking birds "compose" there own songs from all the sounds they have heard from over the years.

What information I have shared about mocking birds are the only things I know about these birds!  There is so much more things to learn about them.

~Emma

Wasps!

  My LEAST favorite insect! There are so many wasps in our area; in the bushes and trees, little cracks between the bricks, and, well, basically everywhere!

  The most vicious wasp is the Texas Red Wasp, which will attack you even if you walk by it without realizing you did!

                       (photo credit:: Internet)

There are also black wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets, or "cicada killers."
                                   

    I have been stung by a black wasp because they thought I was invading their nest, which was in a play-set at a friend's house.  To help suck out the venom (not life threatening) I cut a lime (lemon works too) and placed it on the spot where it stung me.  Then my dad went out to spray the nest and got stung twice on his ear.

( A black wasp. I took this picture on our front porch)   

  Wasps are most active in the spring and summer down in Texas. At my house, we always have wasp spray ready just in case!

  One more thing: never purposely aggravate a wasp, or there will be consequences!


 ~Emma

A Little About Me

   Hello!  I'm Emma.   I love and live in Texas, and am always itching to go outside. My favorite things to do are fishing, riding horses, riding bikes, roller blades and rip-sticks, hanging with friends, reading and writing, and catching crawly critters. Since I see so many insects, fish, and other animals, I thought I'd share them with y'all by making a bug blog! Some people may think, "it's so gross!" to even touch a little bug. Well, not me! I just have to see and touch all the bugs up close! Note: not the poisonous ones!

   There was one bug in particular that inspired my blog.

   I was outside about a week ago when I found it. I put it in a container (didn't know if it was venomous or not), and took it home. I had no idea what it was, so I looked it up. It looked like this:

     Interesting, right? Doing more research, I found out it was this:

   I would have never have guessed it was a ladybug larvae!
 
   The ladybug larvae eats fungus and the adult ladybug eats aphids, little green bugs that usually eat roses and other flowers.  Ladybugs are a member of the beetle family, and the prettiest beetle at that!

   So there you have it; my first of many posts. Thanks for reading and have a good week!
 

      ~Emma~